Short film “LEMON-AID” has the perfect balance of moral absurdity
By Emma Blakley, Delta College Student Submission
“LEMON-AID” by Sumner McMurtry with 15 different awards is deserving of every single one. This live-action movie was released in 2024 for small films festivals across the globe – having its beginnings in Nashville, Tennessee and making it to the London Short Film Festival. Since its two-year festive release, it is now available for viewing on YouTube. While the movie is not yet rated, I would say this film is best categorized as PG-13.
Unfortunately, there is no efficient way to tell who the actors are portraying. With this being an indie film, some of the actors listed on IMDB have no headshot. Actors will be referred to as character descriptions.
“LEMON-AID” is absurdly beautiful.
What makes this film so disturbing is its uncanniness – humanizing lemons, no dialog, and intense direct lighting in scenes tie it together perfectly. The sudden shift in lighting entering the woods turns the mood sour. Instead of direct lighting we now have diffused lighting. The use of gaps between the planks of wooden walls gives us soft streaks of light, adding to the unsettling ambiance of the scene.
Having no dialog means there is heavy emphases on sound effects and its score. The foley is great, from the man running on pavement to the Lemons walking on the grass. It doesn’t sound out of place – it sounds realistic. The score itself is also fitting for the film, produced specifically for it. We can experience that magical feeling of the first sip of lemon-aid, and the end restlessness of wondering what’s happening inside of the barn.
Its contemporary plot with futuristic elements moves along smoothly, but there are a few points I fast-forwarded.
We open the movie with a man jogging through a neighborhood. Very thirsty, he sees an unattended lemon-aid stand and gives in to his temptations. Before giving in, we watch him debate for a whole minute and fifteen seconds. Later near the end, we watch the Lemons staring at something for 37 seconds before that something is revealed.
With a run time of 16 minutes, I feel the two minutes spent standing and staring should’ve been used differently. I would have liked to see more backstory as to why the Lemons are the way they are. Maybe then we would understand the masked figure near the end, and where they are going in their lemon ship.
As they say: when life gives you lemon-aid, turn it into a learning opportunity (or at least something like that).
Children are easily impressionable. From what I infer, the film’s overall theme is stealing, and what could happen to you. If shown to young kids, it could be a good life lesson. I know I’m not alone in thinking this, as one commentor on YouTube agrees; “this is definitely something my mum would watch and recommend to me as a child so that I wouldn’t steal.” Adult audiences see this as an eerie film about a man getting karma for stealing lemon-aid, while children could learn morals.
Indie films are on the rise. Making them accessible on YouTube is another way to bring more light to these short-films and is the perfect way to find your audience. I would recommend this film to everyone. Every year in late September, Downtown Bay City hosts Hell’s Half Mile, a festival designed for independent film and music. For those interested in small indie films, I would highly recommend attending the festival. You may even find that thirst-quenching glass of lemon-aid while your there.
My final rating: 4/5 stars.